Tom Daschle - Secretary of Health and Human Services

What Is Daschle's Record on HIV and AIDS?

Barack Obama has named former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle as his choice for Secretary of Health and Human Services. In this third decade of HIV and AIDS, the HIV community is taking a look at Senator Daschle and asking how he will impact healthcare and the HIV/AIDS community?

Daschle's View on Healthcare Reform

Tom Daschle is not known for making waves. In fact, his views on health care are for the most part in line with those of Obama. But in his book Critical Daschle goes beyond the Obama healthcare agenda in many respects.

• Medicare - Daschle believes that Medicare should be paying only for those treatments and interventions that lead to positive outcomes. More review would be necessary so Medicare is only paying for necessary interventions and treatments. His contention is that reimbursing for unnecessary treatment is costing the program and taxpayers millions.

• Employer-based Insurance - Daschle contends that people should have the option of keeping their employer-provided medical insurance but should also have the option of purchasing the same insurance that covers federal employees. He contends that a system similar to federal employee insurance should also be an option for non-government employees.

• Buying Health Insurance - If Daschle has his way, all Americans will be required to buy health insurance of one type or another. Obama agrees in part, believing that only children should be required to be insured.

• Federal Health Board - Daschle is a proponent of creating a Federal Health Board. This board, comprised of health and insurance experts would over-see federally funded insurance entities; namely Medicare and Medicaid. While the board would have no regulatory role over private insurers, by regulating Medicaid and Medicare, Daschle believes private insurers would follow suit in most instances. It would also provide terms for those private insurers who wish to participate in a federal employees' insurance pool. A very important aspect of this Federal Health Board is that it would be far removed from the affects of Washington politics; something that often negatively impacts other sectors regulated by the Feds. Lastly, the board would assess the effectiveness and cost of treatments in order to assure health care is spending its money wisely. Simply put, the board could reduce or deny payment for new medications and treatments that have not been proven to be more effective than existing therapies.

Buy Daschle's Book Critical

Sexual and Reproductive Health

An important part of assessing Daschle's worth as Secretary of Health and Human Services is his stance on sexual and reproductive health. According to experts in those fields, his record is mixed. The record shows that he did support the Partial Birth Abortion Ban and the Unborn Victims of Violence Act. The act allows criminals to be charged for two crimes when committing violence against a pregnant woman. Daschle did oppose the ban on abortion procedures in military hospitals and supports funding for embryonic stem cell research. He has won support from pro-choice activists for his recent efforts to defeat abortion bans in his home state of South Dakota.

One issue Daschle inherits from the Bush administration is a proposal that will create a Health and Human Services (HHS) policy permitting federally funded healthcare providers to refuse providing contraception for any reason. This concerns reproductive health advocates because they feel such a policy would impede the ability of women to receive quality reproductive health care. As of December 2008, this proposal was still pending. If this becomes HHS policy before the Obama Administration takes office January 20, 2009, would Daschle be able to reverse such a policy in a timely fashion? That is a huge question reproductive health experts are pondering as the try and predict Daschle's impact on health care.

Daschle and HIV/AIDS

A challenge to any HHS Secretary is the state of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the United States and around the world. While in the Senate, Daschle was known for his support of foreign assistance and funding of healthcare initiatives around the world. He has a strong record of supporting HIV/AIDS initiatives as well.

• He was an advocate for the Foreign Operations Appropriations Bill for FY 2004 (S. 1426) which substantially increased funding for the Peace Corps and foreign assistance to combat HIV/AIDS.

• In 2002 President Bush first proposed a program that would provide $500 million to fight HIV and AIDS around the world. As a Senator at that time, Daschle requested Bush considered increasing the funding amount saying $500 million was "too little too late."

• As a Senator, Daschle co-sponsored Senate Resolution 119 (S. Res 119) emphasizing the growth of HIV/AIDS and the responsibility of the U.S. and other developed nations to act in the fight against the disease.

• It is unclear if Daschle will oppose any increase in funding for abstinence-only programs. Experts feel that if any progress is to be made in HIV prevention, the Bush Administration's policy of abstinence only must be overturned. The hope is that Daschle will play a big role in reversing that policy in favor of risk reduction.

_Sources:

Goldstein, J.; "Tom Daschle's Blueprint for Health Reform"; Wall Street Journal; 20 Nov 2008.

Newman, A.; "Will Tom Daschle Be the Secretary of HHS the Reproductive Rights Community Wants?"; RH Reality Check; 19 Nov 2008.

Pear, R.; "Health Care Policy is in the Hands of an Ex-Senator"; The New York Times; 11 Dec 2008.